Words and images by Alba Xandri and Erreka Calmet
Last summer we bikepacked in Mongolia, across 1,800 kilometers of countryside. We discovered many paths and tracks, experienced inclement weather and pushed our bikes for kilometers, climbed 3000-meter passes, subsisted on the local fare of meat and milk.
Mongolians are warm souls and hospitable people. They helped when it was very hot and there wasn’t any source of water nearby, when the lightning and thunder wouldn't stop or when they simply offered their hospitality. Despite the language barrier, we were always welcome to their nomadic daily life and their yurt’s door was always open.
Mongolia far exceeded our expectations. It is a backcountry bikepacker’s paradise. You can both ride and camp almost anywhere. Only ten percent of the roads are paved and half the population lives in the capital, Ulaanbaatar. This meant that some days our only company was herds of yaks, horses, sheep, and goats.
Above all else, Mongolians have stolen our hearts. More than the endless landscapes, swimming in cold rivers, pedaling through remote areas, or camping under the stars.
WATCH NOW: NOMADLAND
NOMADLAND from Bike2reality on Vimeo.